Chapter 3

The IV needle was yanked out of my hand and left behind a streak of blood.

I could feel my lower back slamming against the metal bed rail. The sudden pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

Despite all that, Liam, the man who once prioritized me over everything else, was now guarding Nora nervously.

"I'd had too much to drink that night and gave in to temptation.

"It was all my fault. You can hit me or curse me, do whatever you want, but you can't lay a finger on her! She's pregnant!"

He looked at me warily, as if I were some kind of criminal.

All I did was produce a faint chuckle before stating wryly, "Well, congratulations to both of you.

"Since she's pregnant, make sure you take care of her so she can give birth without problems."

Liam's expression stiffened.

"Amelia, you…"

Nora began to cry, "Amelia, please... It sounds like you're saying that to humiliate me..."

Then, she suddenly rushed up to take my hand and vowed, "Once the baby is born, I'll leave! I won't get in between you two!

"I'm not worthy of that… I should never have been so presumptuous about wanting a family for myself…"

With her hands over her face, she turned and ran out of the hospital room.

Liam immediately chased after her, but not before hurling one last complaint at me.

"Why did you say that? Don't you know you're upsetting her?

"You're always scheming to hurt her!"

With that, silence once again befell the room.

Just as the pain began to subside, my phone rang.

It was him.

"After we get the marriage license, would you be willing to meet my parents overseas?"

I was taken aback and could not provide an answer.

"It's okay if you don't want to, I'll tell them—"

I said, "Sure, I'll go with you."

I could sense him holding his breath on the other end of the phone. When he spoke again, I could hear the cheerfulness in his voice.

Before we could continue the conversation, Liam's voice filtered through the door from outside.

"Who did you say you were going to leave with?"

I did a double take, then hung up.

"Nothing, I just have a business trip coming up."

He entered my room, then studied my expression without managing to extract anything from it. With that, he suppressed the unsettling feeling inside him.

"Sure. In that case, we can extend the marriage registration again, since Nora is pregnant."

His voice then softened, "Even though it was an accident, what's done is done, and I have to take responsibility.

"Please ask the system for another ten months' extension. We can get married after Nora gives birth."

Though the ward had a heater to keep warm, I felt an indescribable chill run through me.

Judging by the way Liam's expression remained unchanged, anyone would think he was only providing me a cursory notice rather than trying to have a conversation with me.

Everything, to him, was so trivial.

"That adds up to twenty months. That's nearly two years of my life."

I produced a derisive laugh, then asked, "Liam, is my life really worth so little to you?"

He seemed hurt by the accusation.

After he looked to the side to avoid my gaze, he dismissed my question, "What's two years, anyway? The average lifespan today is up to seventy years old!

"You're only losing two years of your life. Think about how young Nora is. Would it be right to let her shoulder all of this alone? Besides…"

He snuck me a look before continuing, "If you want to complete the mission, who else could you possibly marry but me?"

All the strength drained out of me when I stared at him, the man whom I had loved for five years.

"Fine."

Without further argument or disappointment, I obliged his request.

This had a reverse effect and flustered him.

For a fleeting moment, he had a sense that I didn't care about him at all.

However, a phone call from Nora effectively dispelled his concerns.

I assumed that was it, that this was going to be our last encounter before I left him.

Little did I know, life had a way of throwing a curveball.

The day before I was about to leave him, Nora was kidnapped.

Liam had me captured because he suspected I was the one behind it.

He claimed to hear my voice in the background of the ransom note the kidnappers had sent.